Daniel Ives, a technology sector analyst at Wedbush, already had the highest price target for the iPhone maker among Wall Street experts. On Thursday, he raised it even more because he thinks interest in iPhones with AI features will grow.
As trading began again after the Christmas break, Apple’s stock AAPL +0.16% fell 0.1% to $358.07 on Thursday. The stock hit a record high of $258.20 on Tuesday, up 4.1% during a four-day winning string.
In the next 12 months, Ives wants Apple stock to be worth $325 a share, up from $300 a share. The new goal means that the price will go up 26% from Tuesday’s close.
Ives said that Apple is still undervalued because investors don’t fully understand the growth potential of its AI-enhanced iPhones, even though the price has gone up 34% so far in 2024.
“We think Apple is about to start an AI-driven multi-year iPhone upgrade cycle that the Street is still underestimating,” he said.
It was Ives who said earlier this week that he thought Apple would sell 240 million iPhones in fiscal year 2025, which would be the most in the company’s history.
There are 53 experts who cover Apple, and Ives’ new price target for the stock is the only one that is higher than $300. It is also the highest of all of them. The average goal is $247.58, but his goal is 31% higher.
He is one of 34 analysts who think investors should buy the company. Only three are negative, and sixteen are neutral.
